She Didn't Have Time
by TheLovelyDanish
Summary: After her Fiancee left, the only thing Mari ever had time for was her daughter. When a girl agreed to help her with a flat tire though, everything changed. AU KanaMari


**A/N – Shout out to my amazing friend/BETA, CharmedMilliE – Karry Master!**

 **A/N #2 – This fic is based on the song She Didn't Have Time by Terri Clark (Yes another country song, I'm sorry it's just my favorite music genre) :D**

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Mari held back tears as she stood in the doorway of her apartment, watching Kaito pack up his car. Rina wiggled in her arms, the babys' short chubby arms reaching out toward her father as he walked back up toward the door. Mari wasn't a crier, she preferred being happy and smiling over being sad and crying. As much as she wanted to though, she couldn't stop the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Bye Mari," he said softly grabbing the last duffle off the ground and throwing it over his shoulder, a sad look on his face. He didn't even let his eyes gaze at the six-month-old in Mari's arms as he walked back to his car and climbed inside. He threw the duffle in the backseat and without even glancing back he started the car and pulled away.

He did it all so casually, as if she was some casual fling he picked up somewhere. Not the mother of his child, the girl he dated since their second year of high school and planned to marry in a few months when she turned twenty-one.

Mari's eyes flickered down to her engagement ring and she felt the tears in her eyes threatening to fall. She couldn't believe that her mom and friends were right all along when they had told her that he wasn't the person she deserved. Of course, she hadn't listened to them, she was too stubborn, and that lead her to where she was now. Forced to finish college and raise a baby all by herself at twenty years old, but she knew she could do it.

She kissed her daughters head, where tuffs of blonde hair stood up and took a deep breath, keeping the tears at bay. As much as she wanted to curl up in her bed and cry she couldn't, there were too many things stopping her. Her pride and stubbornness being two of the reasons, she never wants to bother others and ask for help and crying in a ball in her room would be the biggest call for help in her eyes. The biggest reason though, was the small person she held in her arms.

"Come on Rina," she whispered in the little ones' ear, putting a smile on her face. "Let's go eat breakfast." She kissed Rina's head and walked back inside the apartment quietly, forcing herself not to look back at the spot on the space where his car had been.

Mari spent the rest of the day keeping herself busy, which wasn't that hard to do with everything she had to get done. After feeding Rina breakfast she went out to run a few errands with her neighbor, and close friend, Dia and her daughter Yuuka.

"Do you and Kaito want to come over for dinner tonight? Maru-chan is making that really yummy noodle dish again," Dia asked as they walked down the busy street.

"We can't," Mari said stiffly. Not meeting her friend gaze.

"Oh is he working?" Dia asked.

"Hell if I know, he didn't tell me what his plans were when he left this morning." Mari scoffed angrily, her tone surprising Dia.

"What do you mean left?" Dia stopped walking a put a hand on Mari's shoulder. The older girl easily saw the hurt in her friends golden eyes and things quickly clicked into place. "You don't mean.." Mari nodded silently. "Oh Mari." She whispered putting a hand on her friends' shoulder.

"Come on, lets get the girls home before their naps," Mari interjected quickly. Dia bit her tongue and nodded silently, allowing Mari to lead them home.

….

"Rina stop crying baby." Mari all but begged the child. Somehow, between the time she got Rina up from her nap and now, she had managed to lose her daughters blanket. It was really a silly thing, a small pink baby blanket that her childhood friends Riko and Chika had gotten for her for her baby shower, but Rina never slept without it. Which was why Mari was now running around the babys room, tearing everything apart trying to find it. With Rina crying in her crib and Mari exhausted beyond belief, she was quickly getting to her wits end.

"Kaito where is the blanket?" Mari yelled out desperately. "Kai-" Mari stopped suddenly when the realization hit her. Kaito wasn't home and wouldn't be home ever again. He wouldn't be around to help her find Rina's blanket anymore or rock her goodnight. Mari looked over at Rina and stared at Rinas' ruby colored eyes. His eyes. She almost let the tears in her eyes fall, but she reminded herself that she had to find a pink blanket.

She didn't have time to cry.

After finally finding the blanket and putting her daughter to bed, Mari lay in bed thinking about what she was going to do. She had absolutely no clue what to do now that Kaito was gone. He had been the one who only worked during the during day so Mari could stay home with Rina and go to class at night. Now here she was at twenty years old and a single mother. Finally, after a while of thinking and crying, she fell asleep. Morning came around soon after and Mari found that she really wanted to stay in bed, but she knew she couldn't do that. Sucking back the tears and the sadness, she threw off the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed until her feet hit the floor. She couldn't spend all day crying in bed, she had a daughter that needed her and she most definitely did not waste her time crying over Kaito Kusada.

….

"Are you sure you don't mind watching her?" Mari asked the couple for the fifth time that morning, reluctantly handing Rina over. It has been a week since Kaito left, and Mari was finally getting back to school, albeit reluctantly.

"Mari we don't mind at all, I'm home all day anyway and it will be nice for Yuuka and Rina to spend more time together." Hanamaru smiled, grabbing Rina and balancing her on her hip. Dia walked over and grabbed the diaper bag from Mari, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine, we already have one baby to care for, what's one more?" Dia smiled and Mari nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Mari had met the young couple last year when she moved in next door. She and Dia quickly bonded over being pregnant, although Dia was a few weeks ahead of her, and Mari and Kaito often found themselves having dinner with the married couple as time went on. Although Mari would never admit it, the two women had become some of her closest friends. When Dia told Hanamaru about Kaito leaving, the couple immediately offered to watch Rina while Mari went to class, to help the newly single parent. At first Mari refused, not wanting to burden her friends or inconvenience them, but after a few days of constant asking she finally agreed.

"Bye Ricchi, be good for Hanamaru and Dia." Mari kissed her daughters head and waved her friends goodbye, walking out the door to go to class.

 **xKANAMARIxKANAMARIxKANAMARIxKANAMARIx**

"Mommy!" A small voice yelled happily. Mari barely had time to set her bag onto the counter before Rina ran over to her, arms open wide for a hug. Mari scooped her up and kissed her daughters cheek, walking into the living room, a tired smile on her face.

"Hey Hanamaru, was she good today?" Mari asked the brunette.

"She was wonderful, after I picked her and Yuuka up from school they played together outside and Rina and Yuuka practiced their ballet steps." Hanamaru said with a smile.

"Thanks again Hanamaru," Mari said with a nod.

"Mari, I've been watching your daughter five days a week for nearly five years, you don't need to thank me every time. If it wasn't ok I would've stopped doing it." Mari let out a sigh and nodded, but the ever present smile remained on her face.

"Where is Yuuka anyway?" Mari asked curious.

"Dia picked her up a half hour ago and brought her home." Hanamaru explained.

"Rina, why don't you go practice for your piano lesson tomorrow." Mari set Rina down and she ran off to the other room, where her piano was, her blonde hair flying behind her.

"You look exhausted Mari" Hanamaru said softly. "Why don't you and Rina come over for dinner, give yourself a break from cooking tonight."

"No it's fine. I mean I work full time during the day and raise a five-year-old the rest of the time, of course I'm tired." Mari rolled her eyes and walked back into the kitchen. "Hanamaru, go home and spend time with your daughter and your wife, I'm fine."

"You're not though, do you even go out anymore?" Hanamaru asked her, although the look in her eyes told Mari that she already knew the answer.

"I don't have time Hanamaru, you know that." She closed her eyes and leaned against the counter. "I'm a single parent who works full time and on top of that I have piano lessons and dance lessons to get her to on the weekends," Mari explained.

"Well you know that me and Dia are right next door if you ever need us. We won't hesitate to watch Rina if you want to go out one day. After all, it could do you some good and you may even meet someone new." Hanamaru shrugged waving Mari goodbye as she walked out the front door.

Mari got to work cooking up dinner for her and Rina, setting some paperwork off to the side so she could work as she cooked.

"Mommy! I practiced my song three time!" Rina said proudly, walking into the kitchen ten minutes later.

"That's great Ricchi," Mari praised, setting down their dinner on the table. Rina climbed into a chair and immediately dug into her dinner talking endlessly about school and playing with her best friend Yuuka. Mari was glad her daughter got her personality instead of Kaitos, it was fun watching her talk so animatedly and smile that big toothy smile.

Part of her wanted to find someone new, but she didn't have time.

"Mommy come on!" Rina pulled Mari's hand excitedly as they walked down to the ballet studio. It was Sunday morning, and Rina had her weekly ballet class that she attended with Yuuka

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Mari chuckled. They walked inside, and Rina quickly ran over to a small group of girls inside the dance studio, leaving Mari by the door.

"Mari" Dia called over to the blonde and waved her over. Mari waved back and took a seat next to Dia, positioned near the window so they could watch in on the class.

"Rina! Yuuka!" A small girl yelled, running through the lobby and into the dance studio toward her friends. A woman walked in after her, long blue hair pulling back in a long ponytail with a few strands hanging loose.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked politely, pointing to the seat next to Mari. Dia and Mari shook their heads and the blunette took the seat. "I'm Kanan, and that's Miku." She said, pointing to the small girl who had run in moments before.

"I'm Dia and this is Mari." Dia introduced. "How come we haven't seen you here before?"

"Oh I'm just the next door neighbor. Miku's mom asked me to take her to class today because she had a meeting at work," Kanan explained. "Which ones are yours?"

"Mine is Yuuka," Dia said proudly, pointing out her daughter.

"The short blonde is mine. Rina," Mari said happily. The three women talked for the remainder of the class and for the entirety of those 45 minutes, she couldn't stop thinking about how cute the blunette was.

 **xKANAMARIxKANAMARIxKANAMARIxKANAMARIx**

"This is not happening!" Mari groaned loudly. She ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her flattened front tire. "Come on, it's Friday!" Mari groaned, pulling out her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hanamaru, can you take Rina over to your house and watch her for a while? My car has a flat and I have no clue how long it'll be until I can get someone out here to fix it," Mari explained quickly.

"Ok no problem, me and Dia will make sure Rina is well fed and cared for."

"Thanks Hanamaru" Mari let out a sigh and hung up the phone. "Now what?" She muttered to herself.

"Hey is something wrong?" A voice asked behind her. Mari turned around and saw a woman looking at her curiously. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was dressed in a simple t-shirt, jeans and boots and staring curiously at Mari. When Mari turned around, her curious look turned into a small smile. "Oh it's you! Mari right?"

"Yea, and you're Kanan." Mari nodded. "My car has a flat tire." Mari whined, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"Oh that's all?" She asked. "I can fix that for you easily." She didn't give Mari time to comment though as she walked over to her own car and grabbed a toolbox from the trunk.

"You know how to fix a tire?" Kanan gave Mari a smile and nodded.

"Yep, my dad taught me." Kanan explained, kneeling down on the ground by the tire. Mari let out a sigh and watched on as Kanan got to work. It took a little while, but eventually Mari's tire was good as new and Kanan was standing tall with her hands placed proudly on her hips. "There, good as new." Kanan smiled and Mari jumped over to her and wrapped her arms around Kanans' neck.

"Oh thank you!" Mari sighed happily. "I thought I would be stuck here forever"

"I'll sue you," Kanan said coolly. Mari let out a laugh and let go of the familiar blunette, the ever-present smile on her face.

"Is there something I can do as a thank you?" Mari asked Kanan. She saw Kanan glance down at her hands, which were clasped together in front of her, and bite her lip.

"How about you let me take you on a date?" Kanan smirked.

"A date?" Mari asked. She hadn't been asked out in over five years, she never had time to date after Kaito left her. Mari spent all her time working and taking care of Rina, she didn't have time to date anyone.

"Yeah a date. I was thinking you, me and Rina could go see a movie and grab some dinner tomorrow night?" Kanan suggested. She put her hands behind her back and cocked her head to the side, giving Mari a soft smile. "What do you say?"

Mari let out a breath and wrapped her arms around herself loosely. Did she have time to date someone? Could she risk putting herself through that heartbreak again if things didn't work out? When she looked over at Kanan though, and saw the hope in the girls purple eyes, she found herself nodding.

"Yeah. It's a date"

Turns out she did have time after all.

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 **Comments make my world go 'round! The more you leave, the faster I'll write more oneshots!~**

 **Forever &Always,**

 **Kimmie**


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